Episode 884 (11th June 1969)
Plot Emily tries to get Hilda to help more in the Rovers in Annie's absence but she refuses while Betty's behind the bar. Emily tells Ena she doesn't like their deception and hopes that she's wrong about the contents of the letter. Betty makes breakfast for a grateful Jack and suggests he takes the morning off with a game of bowls and also the afternoon to watch cricket. Val tells Elsie that she and Ken are at loggerheads over Edith. Elsie buys a birthday card for Paul's eighth birthday. Jack is annoyed when Len says he can't get shut of Elsie. Ray takes Betty on at darts. Jack tells Elsie what Len said. Alfred Tatlock rings Val about her mother. Betty beats Ray at darts, losing Stan a bet. Elsie rips into Len. He apologises, claiming it's the pressures of the past few weeks and invites her to dinner. Val hears her mother has taken to her bed, crying, but she refuses to go and see her. Ray tells Stan he's thought of a way of recouping his losses but Hilda isn't pleased. Elsie asks Ena's advice about Len's behaviour. Ena thinks he's going to propose to her. Emily is annoyed when Betty disagrees with her ideas of meals for Jack. Cyril tries to persuade Emily that the police are not as unpopular with young people as she thinks. Ena tells Minnie she doesn't like her maisonette. Cyril is hurt when customers leave the Rovers when he walks in. Using Ray's idea, Stan gets Betty to agree to a darts game with Ted Loftus. Cyril makes Jack close on time, upsetting Stan who wants a pint after hours. Len takes Elsie to a posh restaurant where she anticipates his proposal. He tells her that he is thinking of marriage and the £300 was to do up his house. She is thrown though when he tells her it's to someone who she doesn't know but he hopes they'll get on when they do meet. Cast Regular cast *Betty Turpin - Betty Driver *Minnie Caldwell - Margot Bryant *Elsie Tanner - Patricia Phoenix *Hilda Ogden - Jean Alexander *Cyril Turpin - William Moore *Ray Langton - Neville Buswell *Jack Walker - Arthur Leslie *Emily Nugent - Eileen Derbyshire *Stan Ogden - Bernard Youens *Valerie Barlow - Anne Reid *Len Fairclough - Peter Adamson *Ena Sharples - Violet Carson Guest cast None Places *Rovers Return Inn - Public/Snug and back room *6 Coronation Street - Living room *13 Coronation Street - Back room and hallway *Corner Shop *Restaurant Notes *Last appearance of Valerie Barlow until 30th July 1969 as Anne Reid went on a tour of the Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall play Come Laughing Home. *In a scene in the restaurant, the viewer "hears" Elsie Tanner's thoughts as she remembers previous conversations with Len Fairclough. These are re-recorded dialogue from previous episodes and not taken from the soundtracks of those instalments. *''TV Times'' synopsis: In which Ena keeps her mouth closed, and Len opens his. *Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast - 5,750,000 homes (7th place). Notable dialogue Ena Sharples (to Emily Nugent): "The drawback with you is that you're not, never were, and never will be a woman of the world." Category:1969 episodes